REPSOL has said it will appeal against a €20.5 million fine imposed by Spain’s competition watchdog for squeezing the margins of low-cost service stations when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The CNMC said three companies in the Repsol group were penalised for what it described as an ‘abusive margin-squeeze strategy’ that harmed independent and low-cost fuel stations.
It stated that Repsol held a dominant position in Spain’s nationwide wholesale market for automotive fuels supplied to service stations, which carries a special duty not to restrict competition.
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The regulator found Repsol raised wholesale prices charged to rival stations between April and December 2022, while simultaneously cutting effective retail prices at its own network for professional customers – mainly truckers.
Repsol said it firmly rejected the fine and would appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing the regulator relied on a partial, out-of-context account with methodological and legal flaws and failed to prove either market dominance or any foreclosure effect.
The company said it acted transparently and in consumers’ interests during the exceptional market conditions of 2022, at the height of the inflation crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The CNMC’s fine affects Repsol Comercial De Productos Petroliferos, Solred and Campsa Estaciones De Servicio, it said.
The three companies are also banned from taking part in public tenders related to the supply of automotive fuel for six months, the CNMC added in a statement.
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